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NSRC Data Card 2012-13

Note: This data card is a sample only of data from the 2012-13 NSRC. Figures may not tally due to rounding.

Key Points (66 responding institutions)

Intellectual Property Activity

The number of invention disclosures decreased by 17% from 1,705 in 2011 to 1,420 in 2013.

The number of patent and plant breeder rights filed increased by 7% from 1,757 in 2011 to 1,872 in 2013.

The total stock of patents and plant breeder’s rights decreased by 5% from 11,055 in 2011 to 10,477 in 2013.

The number of patents and plant breeder rights issued was 950 in 2011, 857 in 2012 and 1,059 in 2013, an increase of 10% from 2011 to 2013.

Table 1: Number of patents and plant breeders rights issued by sector, 2011-2013

2011

2012

2013

PFRA

254

302

309

Universities

615

462

671

MRIs

81

92

79

Total

950

857

1059

Figure 1: Number of patents and plant breeder rights issued by sector, 2011-13

Licences, Options and Assignments (LOAs)

Adjusted LOA income was $130m in 2011, $345m in 2012 and $120m in 2013.

The number of active LOAs decreased by 14% from 2,867 in 2011 to 2,454 in 2013.

The number of LOAs yielding income increased by 20% from 791 in 2011 to 950 in 2013.

Table 2: Number of LOAs yielding income by sector, 2011-13

2011

2012

2013

PFRA

276

280

281

Universities

447

434

618

MRIs

68

48

51

Total

791

792

950

Figure 2: Number of LOAs yielding income by sector, 2011-13

Start-up Company Activity

Capital raising for research commercialisation activities decreased from $167m in 2011 to $96m in 2013. The reduction was partly due to the decreased research commercialisation activities of the Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation (CSIRO) in 2013 (from $74m in 2011 to $40m in 2013).

Operational start-up companies increased by 9% from 199 in 2011 to 216 in 2013.

New start-up company formation increased by 53% from 17 in 2011 to 26 in 2013.

Table 3: Number of new start-up companies formed by sector, 2011-13

2011

2012

2013

PFRA

2

3

3

Universities

14

12

21

MRIs

1

7

2

Total

17

22

26

Figure 3: Number of new start-up companies formed by sector, 2011-2013

Contracts, Consultancies and Direct Sales

The total number of direct sales transactions increased by 88% from 14,642 in 2011 to 27,519 in 2013.

The total number of research contracts and consultancies was 15,429 in 2011, 11,146 in 2012 and 12,228 in 2013.

Table 4: Number of contracts and consultancy agreements entered into by sector, 2011-2013

2011

2012

2013

PFRA

3,022

1,994

1,965

Universities

11,849

8,915

10,046

MRIs

558

237

217

Total

15,429

11,146

12,228

Figure 4: Number of contracts and consultancy agreements entered into by sector, 2011-2013

Skills Development and Knowledge Exchange Activity

The number of institutions offering in-house training increased by 7% from 41 in 2011 to 44 in 2013.

The number of in-house training participants declined by 24% from 5,491 in 2011 to 4,169 in 2013.

The number of research postgraduates employed in start-up companies was 139 in 2011, 97 in 2012 and 89 in 2013, a decrease of 36% from 2011 to 2013.

Table 5: Number of research postgraduates employed in start-up companies by sector, 2011-13

2011

2012

2013

PFRA

39

0

0

Universities

65

81

73

MRIs

35

16

16

Total

139

97

89

Figure 5: Number of research postgraduates employed in start-up companies by sector, 2011-2013

Resources for Research Commercialisation

Net commercialisation costs, including marketing, legal, staff and non-staff costs increased from $134m in 2011 to $141m in 2013.

The total number of commercialisation staff, which includes commercialisation legal, marketing and industry engagement staff was 681 in 2011, 575 in 2012 and 724 in 2013, an increase of 6% from 2011 to 2013.

Table 6: Total number of commercialisation staff by sector, 2011-2013

2011

2012

2013

PFRA

191

194

189

Universities

448

338

490

MRIs

42

43

45

Total

681

575

724

Figure 6: Total number of commercialisation staff by sector, 2011-2013

International Comparisons

Intellectual Property Activity

Number of Invention Disclosures per $US100m research expenditure

Australia lags behind the US, Canada and the UK in the number of invention disclosures per $US100m of research expenditure with Australian institutions averaging 26 in the period 2004 to 2013, with the US averaging 39, Canada 40, and the UK 47.

While the number of invention disclosures by US institutions per $US100m of research expenditure has slightly declined in 2013, Australian and Canadian institutions have trended upward in 2012 and 2013.

Table 7: Number of Invention Disclosures per $US100m research expenditure, 2004-2013

Australia

Canada

US

UK

2004

26.5

39.5

40.8

49.2

2005

26.8

41.0

41.1

53.1

2006

26.3

39.3

41.6

52.0

2007

25.6

43.6

40.6

48.1

2008

25.3

40.5

38.7

41.8

2009

25.1

39.5

37.6

40.8

2010

28.0

34.7

35.0

45.8

2011

27.9

38.9

35.8

46.6

2012

22.1

39.5

37.3

45.0

2013

23.6

43.2

36.9

-

Note: (-) No data available

Figure 7: Number of Invention Disclosures per $US100m research expenditure, 2004-2013

Number of US Patents issued per $US100m research expenditure, 2004-2013

After a significant fall from 2004 to 2005, the number of US patents issued to Australian institutions per $US100m of research expenditure has since remained relatively constant.

The number of US patents issued to institutions in the US, the UK and Canada per $US100m of research expenditure has slowly trended upward over recent years (2012 & 2013 for US and Canada and 2010 & 2011 for the UK).

Table 8: US Patents issued per $100m research expenditure, 2004-2013

Australia

Canada

US

UK

2004

5.3

4.5

8.9

11.6

2005

2.3

4.1

7.7

8.9

2006

2.6

3.1

7.2

9.0

2007

1.7

3.9

7.4

7.9

2008

1.4

2.7

6.3

7.1

2009

1.5

2.5

6.3

8.6

2010

1.9

2.9

7.6

8.2

2011

1.9

3.9

7.7

9.0

2012

1.8

4.0

8.1

10.0

2013

2.0

5.3

8.8

-

Note: (-) No data available

Figure 8: US Patents issued per $US100m research expenditure, 2004-2013

Licences, Options and Assignments (LOAs)

The number of LOAs executed per $US100m of research expenditure by Australia dropped from 10.6 in 2004 to 10.1 in 2011. A similar downward trend is reported for Canada and the US over the same period, while the UK reported a marked increase. On average, the number of LOAs executed per $US100m of research expenditure by Australia was 10 from 2004 to 2011.

Table 9: Number of LOAs Executed per $US100m research expenditure, 2004-2013

Australia

Canada

US

UK

2004

10.6

16.4

11.6

34.1

2005

11.6

16.3

11.7

41.5

2006

12.5

12.0

10.9

45.6

2007

11.9

16.0

10.5

42.5

2008

9.2

14.1

9.9

48.9

2009

8.9

14.2

9.9

50.1

2010

8.4

10.8

9.1

55.2

2011

8.1

12.3

9.9

77.8

2012

7.4

12.1

10.0

95.0

2013

10.1

9.5

10.1

-

Note: (-) No data available

Figure 9: Number of LOAs Executed per $US100m research expenditure, 2004-2013

Start-Up Company Activity

The number of Australian start-up companies formed per $US100m of research expenditure has gradually declined from 0.9 in 2004 to 0.4 in 2013. Overall, Australia has remained relatively constant on the rate of start-up company formation over recent years. The US has maintained a stable rate of start-up company formation per $US 100m of research expenditure at a rate of around 1.1 over the years.

Canada and the US have all demonstrated an upward trend regarding the rate of start-up company formation per $US100m of research expenditure over recent years while the rate of start-up company formation in the UK has declined.

Table 10: Number of start-up companies formed per $US100m research expenditure, 2004-2013

Australia

Canada

US

UK

2004

0.9

1.4

1.1

2.4

2005

1.0

1.0

1.2

2.9

2006

0.9

0.8

1.2

3.1

2007

0.8

1.1

1.1

2.9

2008

0.3

0.9

1.1

2.1

2009

0.5

1.0

1.1

2.6

2010

0.3

1.0

1.1

2.9

2011

0.3

1.5

1.1

2.1

2012

0.4

1.3

1.1

1.6

2013

0.4

1.5

1.3

-

Note: (-) No data available

Figure 10: Number of start-up companies formed per $US100m research expenditure, 2004-2013

Time Series Data 200-2013 (60 institutions)

Intellectual Property Activity

The number of invention disclosures has increased by 146%, from 528 in 2000 to 1,300 in 2013. Overall, there has been a steady increase in invention disclosures across all institution types with the highest contribution from universities.

The total number of new patent and plant breeder rights applications filed in Australia and the US has increased by 15%, from 574 in 2000 to 658 in 2013.

The number of patents and plant breeder rights issued worldwide has increased by 94%, from 524 in 2000 to 1,019 in 2013.

Table 11: Number of invention disclosures by sector, 2000-2013

Universities

PFRAs

MRIs

TOTAL

2000

441

62

25

528

2001

560

59

115

734

2002

531

77

134

742

2003

652

65

93

810

2004

791

35

135

961

2005

717

119

96

932

2006

855

130

107

1092

2007

979

103

110

1192

2008

1145

77

106

1328

2009

1198

106

146

1450

2010

1328

114

154

1596

2011

1295

123

241

1659

2012

971

82

228

1281

2013

1044

86

170

1300

Figure 11: Number of invention disclosures by sector, 2000-2013

Licences, Options and Assignments (LOAs)

The number of LOAs yielding income per annum has increased by 94% from 489 in 2000 to 947 in 2013.

Adjusted LOA income in constant 2013 prices has dropped by about 20% from $150m in 2000 to $120m in 2013.

The number of LOAs executed per annum has increased by 50%, from 414 in 2000 to 619 in 2013. The university sector recovered after sharp drops in 2008 and 2009, to a record high of 339 LOAs executed in 2010. While PFRAs remained stable, MRIs experienced a 17% decline, from 41 in 2012 to 34 in 2013.

Table 12: Number of LOAs executed by sector, 2000-2013

Universities

PFRAs

MRIs

TOTAL

2000

234

168

12

414

2001

179

166

15

360

2002

225

195

28

448

2003

249

158

25

432

2004

294

68

21

383

2005

269

94

90

452

2006

305

105

107

517

2007

315

99

135

549

2008

241

124

106

471

2009

266

114

107

487

2010

339

117

47

503

2011

305

123

55

483

2012

319

120

41

480

2013

431

154

34

619

Figure 12: Number of LOAs executed by sector, 2000-2013

Start-up Company Activity

Start-up company formation has fallen by 53% from 47 in 2000 to 22 in 2013. The highest start-up company formation was recorded in 2001 at 62 start-up companies formed.

The number of start-up companies operational with institutional equity rose from 69 in 2000 to a high of 206 in 2004. While not reaching the 2004 levels the 2013 figure of 182 was an increase of 163% from 2000 to 2014.

The value of equity holdings in constant 2013 prices for universities rose from $113m in 2000 to a high of $221m in 2004 and has dropped back to $111m in 2013.

PFRAs have suffered a 77% drop in the value of equity holdings in constant 2013 prices from $47m in 2000 to $11m in 2013. MRIs also experienced a decrease in the value of equity holdings from $25m in 2000 to $11m in 2013.

The department acknowledges the traditional owners of the country throughout Australia and their continuing connection to land, sea and community. We pay our respect to them and their cultures and to the elders past and present.